Chicken Run The Prison-Like Lives of Livestock By Sami Biro Introduction: Do dogs deserve the rights humans receive? Do fish or chickens? We humans seem to see our rights as the most valuable ones, and anything that is not human does not get the same rights. If I'm honest, not even all people receive the same rights. Livestock and other farmed animals are treated horrendously in the food industry. From mutilation to force feeding animals until they die from overeating, the atrocities committed in the food industry are overlooked by lay people. If we were to see humans treated in the same way, there would be a great deal more uproar. When it comes to the rights of farm animals, there are two main schools of thought surrounding the discussion- the rights view and utilitarianism. The rights view is often called an "abolitionist" view since it aims to stop all slaughtering of animals for food. They argue that animals have rights, and that it is inherently wrong t...
Fear Factor and Food Where Do we Draw the Line? Introduction: In my Food and Communication class, we discussed how various cultures define what is "edible." In the U.S., we think lobsters and crabs are edible but spiders sure as heck are not, even though they all come from the arachnid family and are close cousins. Spiders and crabs aren't all that different, and yet one is a fine cuisine and the other is seen as the nastiest of nasty. In this post, I would like to explore the idea of "edible" vs. "inedible," particularly from the perspective of U.S. citizens, and look into why we have such strong aversions to foods that are commonly ate in other cultures. To illustrate some of the extreme aversions we have in the U.S., I will use the T.V. show Fear Factor. Our Aversions, As Expressed in Fear Factor: Iraqi Camel Spider. This GIF was found in the BuzzFeed article. In Fear Factor, contestants are forced to do things that either terri...
Whether served at home or in a restaurant, a portion of the food on most plates at any given table ends up going to waste. On the small scale, a few pieces of broccoli or some unwanted pizza crusts may seem insignificant, however such items are just a tiny fraction of the larger food waste crisis across the U.S. and around the world. In fact, it is estimated that 30 - 40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year . Not only is this statistic alarming because, despite the high rate of foodwaste, a staggering 41 million Americans struggle with hunger every year , but also because of the severe impacts that food waste is having on our environment. Most simply, the steps required for food production, ranging from growing to transportation and finally preparation require significant use of resources including water, electricity, and fossil fuels. Between these environmental concerns and the many issues surrounding food waste in landfills, it is clear that the food system is in dire...
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